Shallow Backyard Irrigation Well

[twosheds 374]

Several years ago when we were digging our pool, the contractors discovered a spring about 7 feet under the backyard.  Fast forward to today.  I purchased an auger to replace some fence posts, and when that job was finished, I decided to go divining for water.  I got an extender for the auger and drilled an 8" diameter hole approximately 45" deep.  It is now filled with approximately 26" of water.  I want to put rock on the bottom with some sort of plastic bucket on top of the rock layer.  Then place a pvc pipe in the plastic bucket with a pump of some sort attached to a water tank above ground to water the garden and flowerbeds, etc.  Has anyone done anything like this?  I would like to know what works and what does not work.  I can run house power to the pump if necessary and I have access to a small solar bank in the back building as well.  

I will now hang up and listen, lol.

 

[TexasEd 8066]

Be careful, you don't want Timmy to fall in the well.

 

You are probably getting low volume seepage.  I don't know how feasible it would be to capture it.  Are you at the bottom of a hill so you are seeing water coming from uphill?

[twosheds 374]

Not really on the bottom of a hill.  The contraption that was set up during pool construction filled a five gallon bucket every 12-15 seconds.  It had a fill valve that would turn on when the bucket was full and empty the bucket up out of the construction area.  It ran continuously until the pool was plastered and filled with water at which point we cut the power to the pump and buried it under the pool.  

 

[RPM 26315]

45' is pretty shallow. First thing to consider is how many septic systems are nearby. If that's not a problem and you decide to use the water, run perforated casing and install a sand screen. You can use a small (1/2 hp) submersible pump at that depth. 

We hit water on my well at 60' but drilled down to 150' for volume. It's been run nonstop over 24 hours and never went dry.